Man arrested after driving drunk with child

A Stuttgart man is facing charges after being caught driving over double the legal limit for alcohol with a 3-year-old in the passenger seat — unrestrained.

Leigh Kreimeier@stuttgartdailyleader.com

A Stuttgart man is facing charges after being caught driving over double the legal limit for alcohol with a 3-year-old in the passenger seat — unrestrained.

Stuttgart Police Department Ptl. Eric Brown was patrolling at approximately 12:15 a.m. Wednesday morning when he witnessed a driver turn left onto Main Street from 10th Street and start traveling in the wrong lane. At that point Brown initiated a traffic stop, but the driver continued.

“After a half a block the vehicle got into the correct lane and travelled until 20th Street and made a right turn — nearly striking a stop sign and a curb in the opposite lane,” Brown wrote in his incident report released Wednesday.

After a half a block on West 20th the 27-year-old Stuttgart man driving stopped the vehicle.

“He was nearly incoherent to understand,” Brown said, and asked the man if he had been drinking. The suspect told the officer that he had had two beers. “He was unaware where he was and thought he was actually in DeWitt.”

Brown then observed the child in the front passenger seat unrestrained and called dispatch for an additional unit on the traffic stop.

“Because of the cold weather the infant child was placed into officer (Jessica) McSwain's patrol car and transported,” Brown said.

The man failed three field sobriety tests and was also transported to the police department where he registered a .193 on the Breathalyzer. A .08 or under is considered legal in the State of Arkansas. The man was placed under arrest for Driving While Intoxicated and second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, both misdemeanor crimes.

The Stuttgart Daily Leader does not release names in misdemeanor cases until convicted. Readers can find the listings of those convicted every Wednesday on the Public Safety page of the Stuttgart Daily Leader. They are also listed each week at www.StuttgartDailyLeader.com.